We offered advice to help save you money on insurance. If you are prepared to pay $12K per year in insurance costs, then feel free to discount this advice. Unfortunately, none of us has been able to locate the Insurance Fairy, who can provide deeply discounted rates on new vehicles for new drivers living in major urban areas. Sorry!

now about getting an old [non-permissible content removed] car, thats crazy :/

Well, you could have wheels, or no wheels at all. I don't know your financial situation, but $12,000 a year to cover a $15,000 car is plain crazy. And the reason your insurance is so high is because you have no driving experience, and will probably wreck the first car, which will put the insurance company on the hook. They don't want to pay it.

You need to get some time behind the wheel before your rates can go down. In order to gain time behind the wheel in insurance company's eyes, you need to have continuous coverage for let's say a minimum 3-5 years.

Since you can't afford $12K premium, but you need to get 3-5 years of continuous coverage, you are limited to what you can cover out of your pocket, which is liability only coverage. No bank will let you borrow money and not have the vehicle fully insured, and if you had the cash to buy this shiny new car for cash, you would not want it destroyed or gone the next day without having it protected.

You are basically limited to a used beater for the next 5 years. Everyone had to do that, you are no special exclusion, unless you are born into a rich family, where everyone gets a BMW for their 16th birthday, and daddy pays for everything.

My first car was a 1983 Chevy Celebrity with 140,000 miles, and that was in 1994. So, 11 year old car now would be a 1995, which I bet is a lot nicer than an 83 Chevy was. My Liability coverage was at state minimum ($25,000/$50,000) and it cost $700/year in the Bronx. I didn't buy new car until 1999, and that was a shocker, $5,000/year for full coverage on top of $300 monthly payments. I move dout of the Bronx fairly soon after that. Location made a huge difference in insurance cost.

Now, I pay $600/year for a $100,000 full coverage policy on a 2005 CR-V, $70/year on the motorcycle, and $350/year for the homeowners, but I live in the suburb of Buffalo (2nd highest populated area in NY State) and I am over 30. I have been driving for the last 13 years and have not had claims against my policy, have perfect credit. All of those factor into insurance cost, credit history being 2nd most important after driving history.

Yeah, you're right. The point still stands that none of us is going can offer advice beyond 1) pay the astronomical insurance rate, or 2) set your sights lower on the vehicle purchase. There is nothing behind door #3.

Yeah, you're right. The point still stands that none of us is going can offer advice beyond 1) pay the astronomical insurance rate, or 2) set your sights lower on the vehicle purchase. There is nothing behind door #3.

Well, there is door #3... It is called Insurance Fraud, and about 45-50% of NYC residents commit it, either by registering out of state or in upstate NY. Then 10-15% just drive without insurance and the rest have to pick up the tab.

Your rates are 750% higher then mine and I feel pretty confident in saying that a guy who does the same thing I do for a living does not make 750% more on an annual basis.

I can tell you that you are absolutley right. I moved to Buffalo from Stamford, CT (originally from the Bronx, NY) and the cost of living is astronomical compared to NYC and suburbs.

My mortgage payment on a 1500 sq. ft house (yard, garage) in 2nd safest town in the whole US (Amherst, NY dropped from No. 1 spot after an anti-abortionist killed an obstetritian) is $375/month. Compare that to my sister's $3500/month rent on a 600 sq. ft apartment on 34th street and 10th ave in Manhattan.

Given that we are in different industries, but she does not pull in anywhere near the 10 fold difference in the cost of living. She DOES make more, but only 10-15% more and only because she is in finance field and I am in R&D field.

A friend of mine who lives in Manhattan is in the same field and makes just as much as I do in Buffalo.

Some will think that life just stops outside of the isle of Manhattan, but they are just as wrong as the people who proposed that earth was flat and sun rotated around the earth.

And if she is listed as the main driver and you're an occasional driver when that's not the case, that could be considered insurance fraud. It would also be fraud if you say that you live at her house when you do not.

As we mentioned earlier, there's nothing (legal) behind door #3. Pay the high insurance rate or buy a car that's cheaper to insure.

I know I'm coming in to this a bit late, but what about renting a car? Sounds like it could be cheaper than even owning a car is that area. Although I don't know who rents cars to such young drivers. If insuring a car in the Bronx is over 12k a year for phase 2k2, maybe he should use the public transportation there and take car service or taxis for more important occassions.

I am a full-time 4 year university student with good academic standing. I've had my license for just about 3 years now - always been on my parent's plan.

Is this too cheap? Too basic? What should I be concerned about? I'm assuming that if the car is financed in my name and the insurance is in my name, they won't go after my 'assets' if something screwy happens (I don't have any assets). If the car is financed, am I required to purchase more coverage?

As to being too cheap, I assume you mean too good to be true. My 20 year old son with a whole ton of points got insurance comparable to you for $650 for 6 months from Progressive. I thought that was a steal.

Too basic? It depends. You have no real assets now I presume so there is nothing to lose. However if you have a major accident a judgment can follow you for many years. You could be paying 10% of your wages for up to 20 years in my state.

While Kirstie has explained that their is no insurance fairy out there, I would like to know if there is a "hit list" of the best cars to buy for a brand new driver that won't break the bank on insurance rates? The reason I ask, is that I talked to USAA yesterday, and they were all over the board on advice. They claim that the "new car discount" they give for (current) 2009-2012 models makes buying a 2006-2008 model NOT worthwhile. USAA also did not like the fact that I was looking at the Yaris as one of the three used cars (Fit, Versa, Yaris) for my new driver. USAA claimed that it was "too small and that I should look at a small SUV sized vehicle." As one who believes that it these stupid "trucks" that are causing all the problems on the road in the first place, I balk at that advice. The Fit, in our simulated insurance cost test case acually came out as the least expensive of the three (as I told the agent it should given its great driver visibility; perfect for a new driver). After talking to USAA, they seemed to make it sound like the road was one big smash-em-up-derby and that I should be looking for something survivable. I countered that the best accident is not one that you survive, but rather the one that you don't get in. Are there any insurance fairys out there that know if there is a magic list of cars that insurance companies favor? I know a old clunker is the way to go, but given the advances in safety (9 airbags on a new Yaris), an older car doesn't seem like a prudent idea at first glance. Thanks in advance for your advice.

thank you so much michaell. That does help. Yes, it is a teenager. Anyone else have some thoughts? Your comment about 2 doors is funny. I'm considering the 2 door yaris because it moves the B pilar back considerably, allowing excellent side view of cars on one's left. I am also looking at the 2 door because my teenager is not allowed to have passengers (especially teenage ones), thus there is no need for 4 doors. Once again, the insurance companies do not take these issues into consideration.

I have had three teenage girls added to my insurance over the past ten years, GEICO. I have provided each a car, Civic Coupe, Scion TC. In all cases, the added insurance for the new vehicle, with child as the primary driver, was $600 - $700 a year. I believe the key factor was all three girls were 4.0 students, in HS and college. Good grades make a huge difference.

kirstie/michaell/billy: thanks very much. I think a top 10 list would be great. Your experience kirstie seems to point to what USAA was saying: midsized cars over economy cars for lower insurance. From my perspective, I have steered out of so many accidents in the last 40 years because I drive small cars. It seems like the insurance companies want us to drive reinforced tanks to keep personal injury claims down. I'll stick with my econo boxes and avoid bad drivers as I have done for decades. I'll keep cars like the 2012 Yaris with 9 airbags on my short list until insurance costs beat me into submission

While not specifically about insurance, there's a new article called Best Cars for Teen Drivers on our site. One of the factors in True Cost to Own (which was one of the rating criteria) is insurance costs. Might be worth reading about what's recommended and why.